Meet Jaris Remigio | Professional Dancer & Portrait Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jaris Remigio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jaris, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Most of my life I had a very work oriented mindset. To be more specific, I previously thought that if I was not doing things on a daily basis that progressed or elevated my work or skills related to work, I was not going to be successful nor happy. But I had learned through trial and error that, that road led me down a path of self destruction and mental deterioration. When I had faced those obstacles time and time again I knew that my priorities had to shift. These days I find myself putting more emphasis on my mental and physical health. Not to say I do not prioritize my work by any means, but work is not my life and I am not my work. To elaborate, like most, I have dreams, aspirations, and goals, but I cannot give all of my time and energy into work all the time. Do not get me wrong either, I do love my work. However, I believe in order to keep that love intact taking breaks and shifting priorities are needed in order to increase the longevity of that passion to prevent early burnout or losing that thing you love to do. Moral of the story, its okay to work really hard, but do not forget to give yourself some grace by taking a step away from work so you can come back to it revitalized and ready to start that next phase again.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am so proud to be a creative. I have been dancing for about 15 years and doing photography for only about 2 now. I have been able to travel within and out of the country for dance to perform at various showcases with the team I am currently a member of, Choreo Cookies. Although my experience and time doing photography is limited, I have been able to take portraits for various clients, ranging from family, friends, businesses, and a fashion show. I am continually growing in both fields so I am sure I’ll have more stories to tell as time passes. Dance and photography have continually been my safe haven. However, the road to coming to peace with it is ever changing so I have to keep adapting. Dance and photography alike, there is always some type of new style, technicalities, or trends releasing daily. I feel like with most of society, I always fall in the trap of trying to follow new trends or yearning for the next best thing in either field. But within that I lose my sense of why I started dance or photography in the first place. A little ashamed to admit it, but I am 100% a people pleaser so I often dance or do photography with other peoples opinions in mind. These days I have been successful at prioritizing doing either dance or photography for myself and more so focusing on how it makes me feel, how it heals, and where it brought me today. I think its important to remind yourself why you do what you do, the accomplishments or milestones you have already reached, and that you are not your work. Yes, work is something you do and can be passionate about, but it is not your identity. That is something that I try to remind myself more often than not.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am a caffeine addict so the first thing my friend and I are going to do is get some coffee and a light breakfast. One of my favorite all time coffee shops in San Diego is Public Square located in La Mesa. They have amazing coffee options for those who are more on the purist side as well as those who lean toward something a little more sweet. They also have this amazing scone that I always have to order whenever I visit which they also pair with 1 of their 6 options of butter. After coffee and a snack, I would want to go sight seeing and relax for the majority of the afternoon. One of my personal favorite places to visit ,with one of my favorite views of San Diego, is Carrillo National Monument. If its not the greatest view of downtown then it is definitely is one of them. I also like to frequent the cliff side of Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, but more so toward sunset. The cliffside itself is a popular spot for couples to do their engagement photos or wedding photos. It’s like a photographers dream background for sunset pictures. Diving into more of the night time, I love ramen, so for dinner I would take my friend to Menya Ultra. In my personal opinion, they have the most flavorful and one of the most consistent broths here this city as well as the best ramen eggs and chashu. If my friend and I are looking for something sweet after our savory meal, I would offer to go grab some boba. My favorite boba drink at the moment is early grey milk tea and Camellia Road in Kearny Mesa makes it like no other. I cant pinpoint the specifics on why I enjoy theirs the most, but I hope you can trust me when I say its amazing. The last place I’d take a friend would be a speakeasy for more of the adult beverages. My favorite speakeasy in San Diego would have to be Realm of the 52 Remedies. They have curated their menu based on ancient Chinese medicinal remedies and added their own flair to it. The ambiance of the speakeasy is Chinese tea house inspired with a modern take to it. It would be the best way to end of a day full of adventuring and food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have many friends in the creative field and are currently in the process of creating their own production collective. Their small, but mighty collective is called AFTRHRS Productions. Some works they have done so far are music videos for local San Diego artists and a few dance videos for local collegiate teams. They not only do video production work, but a few of the members are aspiring graphic design artists, dancers, musicians, and more. I believe the work that they do is great and am always excited to see what they release next. Each individual is so talented in their own right and I would love for more people to not only support the collective, but the individuals as well.

Website: Jarisremigio.myportfolio.com

Instagram: @jarislikeparis

Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/jaris-remigio-86120221a